NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) picked up his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Tennessee State men’s basketball team earn a 66-52 victory over Austin Peay on Thursday night in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown at the Gentry Center. TSU remains perfect in OVC play, moving to 4-0 in the league and 13-4 overall.

The Tigers have now matched the start of the 1994-95 season when TSU won the OVC regular season crown.

TSU trailed for just 1:01 in the game and outrebounded the Governors (8-11, 1-3 OVC) by a 39-31 margin. The Tigers also turned in one of their best shooting nights of the season, finishing 27-for-52 (51.9 percent) from the field.

“I thought we came out in the first half and defended pretty well,” second-year TSU Head Coach Dana Ford said. “I also thought we did a pretty good job on the glass. They’re the best rebounding team in the conference, definitely the best individual rebounder in (Chris) Horton and I thought we did a good job of maintaining the glass and controlling it from start to finish.”

In addition to Martin’s double-double, Keron DeShields (Baltimore, Md.) led the Tigers with 14 points, while freshman Armani Chaney (Chicago, Ill.) tallied a career-high seven points. Xavier Richards (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) also chipped in with six points and eight boards.

The Tigers sprinted out of the gate, jumping out to an 8-2 lead just over six minutes into the game. Later in the half, a layup from DeShields capped a 6-0 run that extended the home side’s advantage to 10 points at 19-9.

A dunk from Neville Fincher (Teaneck, N.J.) at the 5:16 mark gave the Tigers a 25-12 edge. The Governors used a 7-1 run to close the gap to 29-22 heading into halftime.

TSU shot 12-for-24 (50.0 percent) from the field in the first half and had 20 points in the paint through 20 minutes.

The Tigers continued to have the upper hand in the second half, stretching their lead with a 13-3 run to open the half. The advantage grew to 20 for the first time at 56-36 on a layup from Demontez Loman (South Port, N.C.) with 8:30 showing on the clock.

Down the stretch, TSU continued to keep its distance from Austin Peay, leading by at least 16 points until the final minute.

For the Governors, Chris Horton finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Tigers will return to action for a home game on Saturday, Jan. 16, versus Murray State. Tip-off at the Gentry Center is set for 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: TSU’s record versus Austin Peay improves to 28-45 entering the game… TSU had lost two in a row in the series entering Thursday… TSU led at the half for the fifth game in a row… The Tigers are now 6-1 at the Gentry Center this season… Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) picked up his seventh double-double of the season and first since Dec. 14, 2015 at Stetson.

Tennessee State Head Coach Dana Ford

“It was good to see Wayne have a good game tonight. He probably could have had a little more. He only played half the game, but it was good to see he had a good pop to him and he defended pretty well.”

On Wayne Martin

“I think the team is growing every day and trying to get better and starting to realize that they can do some things. You don’t want to take that lightly by letting teams hang around. The ball can bounce anyway at the end.”

On not letting Austin Peay back in the game

Tennessee State Guard Keron DeShields

“We have to credit preparation. We have been trying to get together and take the necessary steps to get to the promise land.”

The key to beating Austin Peay

“We are taking it game-by-game. We are trying to get better as a unit and that is why the ball movement was there, because our chemistry is rising and everyone is starting to click at the right time.”

The team starting to gel

“Since the summertime, we knew those guys can play. We are a deep team, but sometimes we can’t show it because coach goes by the guys in practice. Coach is an everyday guy, so when he sees someone showing up at practice they get a chance. That is why (Armani) Chaney got his number called. Not because we were up big, it was because of practice and preparation. Chaney had a whole different mindset this week. And he is a heck of a player.”

On the play of the bench

“Griggs(-Williams) showed he is a heck of a player earlier in the season. And he is just turning the corner. Everything is peaking at the right time.”

On the play of Christian Griggs-Williams

Tennessee State Forward Wayne Martin

“Last couple games we have played, we have been up by 15 or 16 and we stopped playing defense and let teams back into the games and made the games tougher in the last couple of minutes. So our coaches have emphasized us ‘stepping on their necks’ and not let them to get back in the game.”

On holding on to the lead

“Coach Ford told us there is not much we can do in one day to game plan. It’s just going to be who is the toughest out there. They have the same amount of time to game plan as we do. It’s just going to be who shows up that day and who is going to be ready to go to war.”